Resolution Chart Comparison (JPEG and raw)

Images on this page are of our standard resolution chart which provides for measurement of resolution up to 4000 LPH (Lines Per Picture Height). A value of 20 equates to 2000 lines per picture height. For each camera we use the relevant prime lens (the same one we use for all the other tests in a particular review). The chart is shot at a full range of apertures and the sharpest image selected. Studio light, cameras set to aperture priority (optimum aperture selected), image parameters default. Exposure compensation set to deliver approximately 80% luminance in the white areas.

What we want to show here is how well the camera is able to resolve the detail in our standard test chart compared to the theoretical maximum resolution of the sensor, which for the charts we shoot is easy to work out - it's simply the number of vertical pixels (the chart shows the number of single lines per picture height, the theoretical limit is 1 line per pixel). Beyond this limit (which when talking about line pairs is usually referred to as the Nyquist frequency) the sensor cannot faithfully record image detail and aliasing occurs.

This limit is rarely attained, because the majority of sensors are fitted with anti-aliasing filters. Anti-aliasing filters are designed to reduce unpleasant moiré effects, but in doing so, they also reduce resolution (the relative strength and quality of these filters varies from camera to camera). In theory though, a sensor without an AA filter, when coupled with a 'perfect' lens, will deliver resolution equal to its Nyquist limit. Therefore, even though it may be effectively unattainable with normal equipment in normal shooting situations, an understanding of a sensor's theoretical limit provides a useful benchmark for best possible performance. Nyquist is indicated in these crops with a red line.

On this page we're looking at both JPEG and raw resolution. For a (more) level playing field we convert the latter using Adobe Camera RAW. Because Adobe Camera RAW applies different levels of sharpening to different cameras (this confirmed) we use the following workflow for these conversions:

Vertical resolution

JPEG

raw

Horizontal resolution

JPEG

raw

The A65's 24MP pixel count pays off in good levels of detail and 'some' details resolved up to very high frequencies. In terms of resolution the A65 is one of the currently better APS-C DSLRs, something we'd expect from a camera with such a high pixel count.

Converting your raw files will get a small extra amount of detail but you pay for it with moiré patterning. However, in real-life images this is much less of an issue than it might appear from our test-chart. As always, if detail resolution is your priority, raw files provide a much better starting point than JPEGs (and you can get a lot more out of them than we've managed here, using our standard sharpening settings).

The red Nyquist line in these images represents the limit of our chart's resolution and the (theoretical) limit of the A65's sensor's resolution, but neither the A65's JPEG nor raw output contains much meaningful detail beyond 3600 lp/ph.